briangifford

Last year I went very close to the ground (6 inches max). They will still push a bit of growth (a could of inches) once you cut them down. so keep that in mind when you mulch. My pile was very big (somewhere between 1-2 ft).
Also, Just before I cut them down there were a few new pups that started to poke through. I left those alone and covered them. They made it through the winter perfectly intact (Had some nights of -5).